I have recently joined the social networking group Facebook, and have had a good time sharing information with friends that I normally don’t get much chance to converse with. In the early stages of exploring this new avenue, I added a few “friends” mostly due to the fact that they were friends of some of my actual friends. I have found that these people are the kind of folks that I would truly enjoy getting to know better.

With the recent economic downturn having a direct affect on my livelihood, I have been doing my best to be proactive about my future. I have shared a little information about my trials and tribulations online, although sparingly.

A few days ago, while checking my mail, I discovered a rather thick envelope underneath all the junk. The return address was unknown to me. Upon opening the package I found a small treasure from one of my “friends”. It was truly a great gift.

Thanks Dr. Nancy. It is very much appreciated.

My plans took an unexpected turn this evening, so I decided to catch up on some prior obligations.

I looked at my “to-do” list, and chose to make an image that will surely intimidate my competition at this October’s Rochambeau event at Burning Pram. After all, I am the one and only BP Rochambeau champion, two years running.

Watch out, Shay. You’re going down again….

(the EMFP t-shirt is just a bonus…)

A while back, Melissa, a very welcome visitor to my blog asked me why. Why I enjoy fishing. It wasn’t the most specific question, so I thought I would first clarify.

I fly fish using many methods, but always practice catch and release. I know this may seem odd to many people. It may also seem perfectly normal to others. To catch a fish on a fly is very rewarding. To keep and kill a fish caught by any means just seems senseless to me.

Why?

I have thought a lot about this, and decided I should try and explain one of my passions to what I consider an “outsider”.

I like to fly fish because:

• It takes me to wonderful places.
• I meet great people.
• I like the challenge of taking a bare hook, tying something on it with typically delicate materials, and then taking it to a river to see if it will fool a fish. The more convincing I can wrap the right stuff around a hook, the more successful I might be at fooling a wild trout.
• Homework is essential. What are the fish looking for?
• I manage to go to locations that are beeeee-utiful.
• Because most fisherman that keep fish tend to keep the biggest ones. Ever heard of natural selection? Only the strong survive. When you take game that is superior, you take from the gene pool. Put the big ones back. You may have fooled them, but they are the most important. Put them back. Otherwise there may not be more there next time.

I see it as challenge to figure out a bit of nature’s secrets, while also forcing me to watch. To take note. To remember. To plan ahead. To be prepared.

This is a hard thing for me to put into words. I hope some of my fishing buddies that I have befriended over the years can add some insight.